


Quote the Raven

by Purple_Panic



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Horror, Lemon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-22
Updated: 2011-01-22
Packaged: 2017-11-08 12:29:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/443206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purple_Panic/pseuds/Purple_Panic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is where I will post the short stories written for the Edgar Allen Poe contest over at LJ. Each chapter will be in response to a prompt inspired by his work and all will feature Kakashi and Sakura. Lemons and other adult situations are present.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hearts Don't Lie

This short story was written for the Poe contest over at the Kaka/Saku LJ community. All prompts were inspired by his work, in this case, the "Tell-Tale Heart." If I make it to round two, there will by another unrelated chapter based on the second prompt.

Hearts Don't Lie

Sakura was awakened by the bedroom door opening. Though he was practically silent, the fact remained that it was hard to sneak up on a shinobi. She felt the mattress dip behind her as her boyfriend settled into bed, but he didn't move in close and press his body against hers like he usually did. He didn't drape an arm possessively over her shoulder or hip.

Despite the distance, she picked up the scent immediately. It was masked by alcohol, Kakashi no doubt having had far too much sake before coming home. But underneath the astringent smell lingered something spicy and sweet. It was a sensuous smell of sandalwood and cloves, very different from the fresh floral fragrance Sakura usually wore.

She suddenly realized she was smelling another woman's perfume and her heart leapt into her throat, fluttering like a panicked bird as the implications of the situation raced through her mind.

Perhaps it was innocent. Perhaps he had been out at a bar and sat close to a woman who had simply worn too much perfume. Perhaps he had hugged an old friend. Maybe some of the fragrance had been spilt on him somehow. Or maybe...just maybe it had rubbed off onto him while he was naked with another woman, both of their bodies glistening with sweat as they moved against each other.

Sakura banished the thought from her mind. She was just being paranoid. She had dated Kakashi for four years and they had been living together for three. Due to their dangerous profession, she doubted they would ever officially get married, but they were as close to it as two people could get. She trusted him completely, and to her knowledge, he had always been faithful.

And yet, a nagging voice at the back of her head reminded her that he had been acting a little strange ever since he had returned from his last mission three weeks ago. He stayed out late more often, claiming he had recently rekindled his friendship with some of the other Jounin guys and they all liked to have a drink down at the local bar once or twice a week. She had never thought anything of it, but now she was afraid that perhaps he wasn't really going to a bar at all.

She listened to his steady breathing behind her. He was already asleep due to his drunken state. In the darkness, she told herself to calm down. She was probably just overreacting. She had no real proof that he had been with another woman. There were a million reasons why he smelled the way he did and she didn't want to confront him about it. He might think her jealous, overbearing, and she wasn't willing to risk upsetting him if there wasn't even anything wrong.

She willed herself to go to sleep, knowing she had a long shift at the hospital ahead of her, but even as she drifted off to sleep, her mind was busy crafting images of the woman to whom the scent belonged.

The next morning, Sakura woke to the much more familiar smell of bacon and eggs. She padded out to the kitchen to find Kakashi busy making breakfast for the two of them. As usual, he seemed unaffected by all the alcohol he'd ingested the night before. She wasn't sure how he did it, but he always managed to awake hangover free.

His mask was in place but she recognized his smile by the way his eyes creased when she walked in the room. He pulled her in to a hug with one hand, spatula in the other as he pressed mask-covered lips to her forehead. Sakura inhaled the clean scent of soap and kissed to the shower-damp skin of his bare arm.

Last night's suspicions were forgotten as they chatted comfortably over breakfast, and Sakura laughed at her own paranoia.

However, as the weeks progressed, Kakashi's strange behavior increased. He used to find any excuse to touch her, a caress to her low back as he stood behind her, a hand to her cheek as they kissed. But lately, he seemed more and more uninterested in Sakura all together. Gone were the lingering looks of adoration and the attempts to playfully tickle her.

One morning, Sakura climbed atop him in bed and slipped his prominent morning wood inside of her. She enjoyed riding him slowly, feeling him slide inside so deeply, until she saw that Kakashi didn't seem to want to participate much at all. He wasn't captivated by her naked body like he usually was. In fact, his thoughts seemed to be elsewhere entirely. Discouraged, Sakura dismounted since neither of them were going to reach completion. She rolled to her side, feeling wholly unsatisfied and a little hurt as Kakashi mumbled an apology, saying he had a lot on his mind.

He got up and showered, leaving Sakura to wonder if after four years, the magic was starting to disappear from their relationship. It was true that she worked long hours at the hospital and that he was gone days, sometimes weeks at a time on missions, but they had always been happy with their routine. Morning sex had always been one of Kakashi's favorite things, especially when she took control, and she couldn't help but wonder if he no longer found her as alluring as he once had.

When they had first starting dating, sex had been so exciting. Part of it was fueled by the underlying taboo that he was her sensei and she his student. Sex was deliciously naughty and full of passion, but now, she wondered if the flame had just run its course and was beginning to die out. Perhaps she needed to do something new to spice up their relationship.

She tested her theory the following night, emerging from the bathroom clad in a racy black thong, pushup bra and thigh highs, held up by a matching garter belt. She had carefully styled her hair and makeup to ensure that she looked just like the sexy women in Kakashi's books. She had never worn anything so daring, but the second she had seen the set in the shop front window of Konoha's finest lingerie store, she knew she had to have it. She slipped on her horribly impractical four inch heels and stood before the bed where Kakashi was reclined, nose buried in one of his usual orange-jacketed novels.

"Hey, honey," she purred in what she hoped was a sexy, come-hither tone.

He looked up from his book, eyes widening as he took in his girlfriend's provocative attire. Sakura sank one knee to the bed and proceeded to crawl towards him, plucking the book from his fingers and setting it aside.

I want to have some fun with you," the pink haired vixen said seductively as she straddled her lover's hips , confident that this was the answer to reawakening Kakashi's interest in her.

To her dismay, the older man's expression turned from surprised to sheepish as he mumbled, "Actually Sakura, I'm not really in the mood."

She knew her mouth was hanging open but she couldn't find the sense to close it. Not in the mood? Kakashi Hatake was always in the mood! How could he be disinterested when she was dressed like one of the sultry goddesses from his books?

Anger quickly replaced disbelief as she uttered a furious, "fine," before stomping off to the bathroom and slamming the door behind her. She wrenched the hot water on in the shower, making the old pipes groaned in protest, but she was too upset to care as she tore the sexy clothing from her body.

If this couldn't get Kakashi's attention, she supposed nothing would. It was true she was no longer a fresh faced woman in her early twenties, but she was by no means old. She seldom wore makeup and cared little about her personal appearance while at the hospital, but was that enough for Kakashi to grew bored with her?

She stepped under the scalding spray, letting it melt away the cosmetics she had caked on and wash the hairspray from cotton candy strands. She was on the verge of crying but she stubbornly held back the tears. Maybe it wasn't her looks that had Kakashi disinterested. Maybe he was just tired of their mundane routine. Perhaps they should take a trip together somewhere, even just for the weekend. She hoped he would be in favor of the idea and it would be enough to jump-start their relationship once more.

She emerged from the shower less angry and more weary, all sultry traces of mascara and sexy wavy hair gone. She wrapped herself in a towel and opened the bathroom door to find Kakashi standing there looking very apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," he said, gently cupping her face with his hands. "I've just had a lot going on since I'm helping Iruka out at the academy this week. I've been really tired, but I know you went to a lot of trouble to get that gorgeous."

A part of Sakura didn't want to be placated so easily by his words. She had every right to stay mad at him, but one look into those mismatched eyes had her sighing in defeat. "Yeah, it was a lot of work," she shrugged, stepping past him towards the bed. "Too bad it was all for nothing."

Strong hands wrapped around her waist from behind and she felt warm breath tickle her ear. "But it's not too late to have a little fun."

His voice was playful and mischievous, much more like the Kakashi she knew. She allowed him to take her to bed and make love to her slowly, passionately. His kisses and caresses were sweet, as if he were continuing his apology through their coupling, and Sakura's heart soared. He got her off once with nothing more than his mouth and then entered her, moving in smooth, deep strokes, and just went she thought she was about to reach her pinnacle once more, he stopped just long enough to replace his member with his tongue all over again, sending her hurtling off the brink. He entered her again and quickly had her gearing up for a third climax, encouraging her to call his name. Her last coherent thought before she plunged headlong into oblivion was that maybe there was hope for them after all.

However, two nights later, Sakura was awakened once again by Kakashi sneaking in late. She knew he had to be drunk because his usually stealthy footsteps were loud and slightly clumsy. He collapsed into bed, too far gone to take care not to wake her, and Sakura was immediately assaulted by the overpowering stench of stale sake, sandalwood, cloves and sex.

She recognized the smell too well to mistake it for anything else, the musky odor of pheromones and sweat. There was a time when she was having sex with Kakashi so often that they had to open the windows for fear of having the scent settle into the carpet and become permanent. The scent usually triggered memories of lazing in bed, exchanging pillow talk or simply being content in each other's arms. Now the smell symbolized lies and unfaithfulness. If he hadn't been so drunk, he probably would have taken a shower before coming to bed like he had so many other nights, but in his inebriation, he had made a fatal mistake and now Sakura knew what he had been up to.

Her first instinct was to deliver a punch powerful enough to crush his skull and kill the cheating bastard right where he lay. However, she couldn't make herself summon the energy. She felt hollow, empty, sick inside. It wasn't until she heard pitiful whimpers in the silence of the room did she realize she was crying, tears wetting her cheeks and dripping off her chin to stain the sheets.

She didn't know what to do. Her hopeful heart reminded her that there was still a slim chance that there was an explanation for all of this, that things weren't what they looked like. She wanted to confront Kakashi and hear from his mouth whether he had been unfaithful or whether this was all just a terrible mix up.

She took and deep breath to quiet her sobs and gripped the sheets with trembling fingers. Though she was heartbroken, her rational side was already formulating a plan. As usual, Kakashi was way overdue for a medical exam. Since she was like a daughter to none other than the Hokage, she could put pressure in the right places and ensure that he was forced into the hospital immediately for a physical if he wanted to be allowed on another mission. It was common knowledge that the two of them were dating so another medic was usually assigned to Kakashi, but since Sakura outranked nearly everyone at the hospital, it wouldn't be a problem to make sure she was the medic on duty when he came in.

She rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but this time, sleep was a long time in coming.

Just as planned, Kakashi received a summons two days later demanding that he go to the hospital as soon as possible. Sakura heard him curse under his breath as she was leaving for work. It was widely known that the Copy nin despised hospitals.

Five hours later, late as usual, Kakashi appeared and he was immediately shown to one of the small examination rooms where his physical would be held. As she entered the room, she saw that he had changed into the paper gown that had been left for him, his clothes in an untidy pile on the nearest chair. His eyebrows quirked upward at the sight of her. She was clearly not the medic he had expected to see.

"Good afternoon Hatake-san," Sakura said politely, treating him as she would any other patient. She flipped through his chart, though she probably knew his medical history better than anyone else before sitting on the stool across from the paper-covered examination table where Kakashi was perched uneasily.

"Sakura, I didn't think you were allowed to give my exams," the Copy nin said, his keen shinobi senses picking up on the fact that something strange was going on.

"I'm one of the senior medics here. I can do whatever I want," Sakura said casually, still looking through his chart as if it were incredibly interesting. In reality, she was gathering her courage for what was coming next. "Besides," she added, continuing her charade. "I figured you wouldn't want to have to unveil your face to another member on staff."

Kakashi's lips curved into a frown, clearly not convinced, but he obediently sat still as she first examined his normal eye, and then his Sharingan, answering the basic questions she asked about his eyesight. She moved on to test his hearing, his reflexes, and even snapped on a latex glove to probe him in some more intimate places.

Half an hour later, the silver haired man was feeling thoroughly violated and quite irritable. It was clear that all he wanted to do was get out of the office, but Sakura had one more series of questions for him as she stripped off her dirty glove and threw it away.

"You're almost done," she assured him as she adjusted the stethoscope around her neck, placing the ends in her ears. She placed the cold metal disk against her patient's chest, listening to the slow and steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

After asking him the necessary questions of if he experienced any chest pain or shortness of breath, she proceeded to ask about where he had been two nights ago, and she could have sworn she heard his heart skip a beat.

"I was out with the guys," Kakashi said, his voice even and steady, but she could hear that his heart rate had slightly increased.

"That's very interesting," Sakura replied. "Because I don't recall any of your male friends wearing feminine perfume."

Her words caused his heart to beat faster still even though Kakashi's voice was as smooth as ever.

"What do you mean?" he asked, meeting Sakura's gaze unwaveringly as she looked up at him.

"I mean you had a woman's perfume all over you. It couldn't have been mine because it's not a scent I wear. You usually shower when you get home, but that night you didn't. Now I know why. You were hiding something."

His heart was racing now. The steady lub-dub lub-dub thunderous as his body naturally reacted to stress.

"Sakura, I-"

"And not only did you smell like another woman," the medic pressed on, anger creeping into her voice though her voice was still low. "You smelt like sex. If you're not having an affair, you better have a damn good reason for smelling like you spent the night in a brothel."

Kakashi's expression was passive. His breathing even. He could perfectly control his voice, his movements, his reactions. But he couldn't control his heart. It was hammering away beneath his ribs, betraying all the anxiety he felt inside. Even if his lips wouldn't tell the truth, his heart already had. She just wanted to see if he had the decency to say it to her face.

"I-it was...we were..." Kakashi stumbled, his smooth tongue at last failing him.

Sakura stared at him evenly, removing the stethoscope from her ears. His heart had already told her the tale. Four years of unconditional love, and for what? So she could watch it all go down the drain when she finally backed him into a corner and questioned his loyalty?

"I hope she was worth it," the medic said softly, picking up his chart and scrawling a statement saying he passed his exam and that he would be free to go on future missions. She hoped the Tsunade would send him on one that guaranteed he would be gone for months, and though she was not a vindictive person by nature, she hoped at the moment that it was a mission that was severely dangerous.

She was turning on her heel to leave before Kakashi realized what had just happened. He was on his feet coming after her, though he was in nothing but a paper gown.

"It was only supposed to be one time, on a mission," he pleaded. " But for some reason, I couldn't get enough of her. But that night was the last. I broke it off because I realized that all I wanted was you and-"

Sakura reeled on him, green eyes blazing as she hissed, "I don't care if it was one time or a hundred. You're a cheating, lying bastard and whatever was between us is over. I'll be moved out of that apartment within the week and you can sleep with all the women you want."

"But Sakura, I-"

The kunoichi slammed the door in his face, cracking the doorframe in her rage. Not only had Kakashi cheated, but he had intended to lie about it. If it wasn't for his carelessness, she might have never known. She knew beneath her rage was infinite sadness that would require weeks of crying fits and a whole lot of chocolate to work through, so she held on to her anger, using it to suppress her rage as she stomped down the hallway. She was going to leave work early and find Ino at her family's flower shop to ask if she could crash there until she found her own place. She didn't care that her blond friend would demand the juicy details of their breakup and then spread it all over town. All of Konoha could know what kind of scum Kakashi was for all she cared.

As intent as she was on staying mad, she didn't even make it out of the hospital before she broke down, locking herself in one of the bathrooms for employees only so she could cry her eyes out into a roll of paper towels. It had been a long time since her heart had hurt like this, but the pain was all too familiar. But she had overcome such grief in the past and knew she would again. She just needed time...and ice cream. A whole lot of ice cream.

Once she had calmed down enough, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her face was red and splotchy and her eyes equally red and swollen. Splashing water on her face at least made her semi presentable and she forced herself to take breath slowly. She could feel her own heart beating rapidly and thought back to the way Kakashi's tell-tale heart had betrayed him. She was grateful to whoever had invented the stethoscope, and even more grateful that the Yamanaka flower shop was just down the street.


	2. Waking Up

Hey everyone! This is my entry for round two of the Edgar Allen Poe inspired contest! This week's theme is "dream within a dream." Every week more authors are eliminated until there is one winner. Anyone can vote, even if you don't have a live journal. If you want to see me make it to round 3 and write another installment, then head on over to kakasaku at live journal and vote for me!

This chapter is completely unrelated to the first one, meaning they have nothing to do with each other. Just keep that in mind.

This particular segment came out creepy and twisted and strange and above all sex free. I really think there might be something wrong with me.

Waking Up

Kakashi awoke with a start, body jerking as if he had just been submerged in a pool of frigid water. He was in a cave. The same cave where the battle had begun. It was dark and cold, illuminated only by the soft glow of what he assumed to be phosphorescent fungus growing plentifully on some of the rocks.

He got to his feet, body aching and mind spinning as he tried to get his bearings and remember how he had gotten here.

He had been sent on a mission to terminate a rouge ninja who had taken to terrorizing towns and collecting followers. Nobody knew for sure what he wanted after he took control of every settlement he passed, but he was already a powerful man and had to be stopped.

Kakashi had been assigned the job with Sakura as his personal medic and backup. He had hoped for a larger team, but nearly all of Konoha's shinobi were currently deployed, and the Hokage feared that the longer they waited to act, the greater this threat would become.

So she had sent Kakashi and his former student. The Copy nin was amazed at how adept the kunoichi had become. He was certain that together, they would be able to easily dispose of the troublemaker, but Kakashi had not counted on his foe being such a powerful genjutsu user.

Kakashi made his way through the cave, not knowing if he was getting closer to the entrance or deeper into endless tunnels that snaked from one cavern to the next. He was on guard. Something didn't feel right. Time was missing from his memories. He had been in mid fight with his opponent, the large but surprisingly agile man, charged at Sakura who had already suffered a broken arm. He had tried to intercept, but what had happened after that? Where was his partner?

The winding tunnel led to a cavern so large, Kakashi could not even see the stone ceiling above. Stalactites thrust out of the cavern floor, the product of thousands of years of slow, but steady rock formation. The strange glowing fungus was present in this room as well, but even the air around him seemed to shimmer with light. Upon activating his Sharingan, Kakashi realized he was looking at thousands, if not millions of tiny bugs. They were fireflies, or something close to them, flying about silently and lending their light to the dark room. It was by their illumination that Kakashi was able to see the figure laying in the circular clearing in the middle of the cave, a figure with pink hair and a familiar red shirt.

"Sakura!"

His voice echoed unnaturally in the vastness of the cave as he raced to her side. She was face down, motionless even as he knelt next to her and shook her gently. Icy dread wormed through his stomach like a malicious parasite as he gently rolled her over and cradled her body in his arms.

Her pretty face was unrecognizable, her skull smashed on one side, revealing inner workings of brain and bone. Her skin had been stripped away in places, leaving bloody tatters of muscle, now slack. White teeth grinned at him where she no longer had lips to cover them.

Kakashi could only gape in horror. How could this have happened? How could he be fighting one moment, and looking at his partner's corpse the next?

"Sakura," he whispered. "I'm sorry, so very sorry."

Eyelids that had covered emerald eyes suddenly flew open, their stare wild, manic.

"Ka...ka...shi..."

Her voice was raspy, wheezy, probably do to the fact that the flesh on the side of her neck was gone, leaving a hole that let air escape from her throat. It was no longer the melodic tone of the girl he had known so long. She was a monster.

Pale fingers grasped at him and Kaksahi dropped her to the ground, scrambling away from the undead creature. His breath was high and thin and he struggled to take in panicked breaths. Sakura, or what was left on her, struggled onto her hands and knees and began to crawl after him at a pace that was far too fast to be natural.

"Kakashiiiii!"

Her voice rose to the scream of a banshee and Kakashi emitting a frightened scream of his own as he found himself pressed against the cave wall. He had nowhere to go and she was coming closer, closer. She was-

Kakashi awoke suddenly, heartbeat racing and palms sweating. He was instantly on his feet, trying to dispel the nightmarish visions from his head. It had been a dream. It was all just a dream. But then why was he still in a cave where the rocks were covered with the same eerie greenish glow?

Kakashi looked around, senses straining to pick up signs of life. There were none. Sakura's disfigured face was still crystal clear in his mind. His normally steady hands were shaking as he glanced around himself warily.

The only sound was the occasional drip of water seeping through fissures in the rock somewhere above as he began to make his way down the tunnel. Every curve and bend seemed to match up perfectly to the one he had just dreamt. He tried to tell himself that he was wrong, or that it was a coincidence, but when the tunnel opened up into the immense cavern, he knew there was no denying that this was the place he had recently inhabited in his dreams. The fireflies still hung thick in the air, cutting countless tiny trails in the darkness.

Kakashi's eyes immediately went to the center of the room, half expecting to see the gruesome remains of the kunoichi. But there was nothing. The Copy nin heaved a sigh of relief, but if she wasn't here, then where was she?

He cautiously and carefully began to search around the cave, working his way around the circular room. He checked every crevice but couldn't find so much as a drop of blood or a footprint to signify Sakura or anyone else had been here.

Just when he was considered climbing the steep walls to check for hidden openings, a familiar voice called his name. It was Sakura's, and it was coming from the tunnel from which he had entered. He turned and hurried towards the sound, but remained alert. He didn't know where the enemy had gone but he was certain he couldn't be far. The tunnel went on and on, twisting and turning until he emerged in another large cavern with a ceiling too high to see and filled with more fireflies than he could count. Sakura's voice seemed to echo off the walls, making it hard to determine her exact location.

He began to search the carve and came upon a set of footprint too large to be his partner's. In fact, they were a perfect match to his own sandal. He followed them, desperately hoping that there was an explanation, but as they followed the same circular path he had used when first inspecting the cave, he realized that he was indeed back in the same place.

"What the hell?" he growled. He had been absolutely sure that there had been only one entrance and exit at ground level. It should have been impossible for him to end up in the same place, and yet, here he was.

"Kakashi."

The shinobi whipped around to see Sakura walking towards him. She was uninjured, face intact without so much as a scratch. He was so relieved that his knees weakened and it was only by sheer will that he did not collapse to the ground.

She was on the far side of the cave and she was saying something but he couldn't hear. At first Kakashi didn't realize why. It had started so gradually he had barely noticed, but a soft buzzing thrummed all around him growing louder and louder until it drowned out Sakura's words. The source of the noise was a mystery until he noticed that all the light in the room was moving away from him and towards Sakura. Millions of agitated little wings created a hum that quickly became a cacophony.

Kakashi was suddenly filled with alarm. He didn't know what this meant, but he was sure it couldn't be good. Sakura continued to shout to him but he couldn't make out the words and the bright swarm clustered around her, leaving the rest of the room in darkness.

Her mouth opened wide as a look of surprise passed over her features and Kakashi could see why. The swarm of light-emitting insects was flying into her mouth as if they were a single being with one thought process. He began to sprint towards her, the cave suddenly seeming larger than ever as he tried to come to her aid.

As more bugs flew inside, a strange thing happened. Rays of light beamed from her mouth and she seemed to glow from within, making her transparent enough to see her skeleton through her skin. Her mouth was open as if the light itself had substance and was keeping it stretched open.

Kakashi ran as fast as he could but she still seemed the same distance away. He couldn't get to her, couldn't save her, as more and more bugs filled her and the light from within grew brighter and brighter until she was completely transparent, allowing him to see the silhouette of her beating heart, her expanding lungs. Light poured from empty eye sockets like search lights, and Kakashi still couldn't reach her, couldn't-

Kakashi awoke abruptly, hands clutched to his head. He was cold and stiff from laying on the cave floor. He was alone.

Another dream? It had to be, and the Copy nin tried harder than ever to clear his head of the nightmarish thoughts and remember where he had been before initially awaking. He was badly shaken, nerves shot from the strange and terrible images he had witnessed, but he forced himself to breath deeply as he sat on the cold cave floor.

He had entered this cave with Sakura after it had been revealed to them by some villagers that this was where there target was hiding. Exploring his hideout had been almost too easy. There were no hidden traps and they hadn't encountered anyone, just the strange moss or fungus that gave off a glow all its own.

And then they had encountered their enemy in one of the narrow tunnels. It was one of the worst places to have a fight but they had little choice. Their opponent had managed to pick up Sakura and throw her against the wall and then kick her hard enough to send her skittering down the tunnel on her side, breaking her arm in the process. He had charged her, intent on finishing the job and Kakashi had tried to intervene when the man turned on him and made a series of hand signs he hadn't recognized. Then Kakashi had woken up here.

A jutsu? Is that what had happened? Had he been teleported somewhere? Or was he currently caught in a genjutsu? It made sense, and would explain all the images that were too strange to be real.

Before he could think further on the subject, he heard heavy footsteps behind him. The Copy nin was instantly on his feet and turned towards the source, feet and fists ready in a defensive stance. He knew it wasn't Sakura. The footfalls were too heavy, too careless to come from his petite and agile partner. His suspicions were immediately confirmed as a large and hulking man came into view. He was broad shouldered, thick, but not as muscular and fit as one would expect a skilled shinobi to be. Eyes dark as tar met Kakashi's single, uncovered orb. His lips, which were framed by an unkempt beard, were twisted into a cruel grin as he walked forward purposefully, not at all intimidated by Konoha's famous assassin.

It was their target all right, known only as Dai, or more often, the Master of Illusion. Kakashi had scoffed at the title, though all he could do now was pray to the gods that this was all an illusion, because Dai held something in his right hand that made Kakashi ill despite all he had seen as a seasoned shinobi. He held a fistful or Sakura's pink tresses, and dangling from them was her head, severed cleanly from her body. Sightless green eyes rolled up at him as her head swung back and forth in time with Dai's walk.

Sakura was dead. She had been a brilliant and gifted kunoichi and medic. Untimely deaths were an occupational hazard, but Sakura's demise was one that Kakashi could not accept. It was because of him. He should have protected her and he had failed.

Rage bubbled inside the Copy nin as he shifted his attention from the kunoichi's remains to Dai's grinning face. He was going to make this man pay and he was going to do it in the most painful way possible.

Tugging his hitai-ate up to expose the spinning Sharingan, Kakashi rushed at his opponent, a lot growl of anger escaping him. A chidori was crackling in his right hand, bright blue energy flooding the tunnel with light, but just as he was about to deliver the blow, a terrible pain struck him in the chest. He looked down to see Dai's free hand lodged inside his left pectoral right up to the forearm. The pain was terrible as he watched in horror, chidori evaporating as he lost the concentration to maintain it. His strength left him as he saw Dai's hand emerge, holding something pink and fleshy...and beating.

He watched his own heart beating in Dai's bloodstained hand, and knew that his enemy meant to crush it right before his eyes. The fingers holding his heart squeezed tighter, tighter, and could swear he could still feel the pressure of his grip.

Then his hand abruptly closed into a fist, sending fleshy tissue oozing through his fingers and-

Kakashi awoke and realized he was screaming, the terrors of his nightmare enough to make him cry out in his sleep. He looked around, mentally cursing when he saw he was still in the cave and there still was no sign of Sakura. He couldn't take this anymore, waking up again and again. He didn't know what was real anymore. He didn't know what had happened to him but he had a feeling the moment Dai had made the hand signs held the key. His nickname, the Master of Illusion, had been earned by his reputation of being incredibly skilled in genjutsu. Despite his Sharingan and experience, Kaskashi must be caught in one right now. He wasn't trapped in a series of dreams, but illusions and he had no idea how to get out or what was happening to Sakura back in the real world.

Sakura had been injured, her arm broken and he knew she wouldn't be able to heal it before Dai tried to attack. He had to help her or at least distract the enemy long enough for her to repair the broken limb.

Not knowing what else to do, Kakashi drew a kunai from its holster. This method had worked for him before when trying to break free from an opponent's genjutsu. He only hoped it would work now. Gritting his teeth, he plunged the kunai into his thigh, wincing as the sharp blade cut cleanly through muscle-

Kakashi opened his eyes. He was still in the cave, but the sight was made much more appealing by the pair of emerald eyes peering at him with concern.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you ok?"

With some difficulty, the Copy nin pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around. Everything was the same as his dream, the stalactites, the glowing moss. The air was even filled with fireflies, but there were no zombie corpses and Sakura still had her head.

"Where's Dai?" he asked as he got to his feet, body tense as he waited for the bugs to attack or for his heart to suddenly be ripped from his chest.

"There," Sakura replied pointing to a dark figure that was face down in one of the cave's numerous puddles. Blood had seeped out of the body, turning the clear pools a dirty brownish-red. It appeared that Sakura had taken care of their target all by herself. It was also apparent she was favoring her injured arm greatly.

"How bad is it?" he asked, gesturing to the injury in question.

Sakura shrugged matter-of-factly. "I did a sloppy job healing it since I didn't have a lot of time," she said. "Once I get back to Konoha, I'll have to re-break it and heal it over again, but it was enough to win the fight."

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask, marveling at how much this once lovesick and weak girl had blossomed into a beautiful woman who was as tough as nails and ten times as deadly. He couldn't help ruffling her hair, although he knew it would annoy her. He wasn't the type to give compliments, but in this moment he was incredibly proud of her.

"I guess our work here is done," he said, grateful to be leaving this wretched place. "Let's go home."

Sakura grinned and nodded, falling into step with him as they began the long, winding journey back to the cave's entrance. He knew her arm must be bothering her, but she didn't utter a word of complaint, nor did she jibe him about getting caught in a genjutsu and leaving her to do all the fighting.

"How long was I out?" he asked conversationally, stepping around a particularly large puddle.

"Not long," she replied. "Only a minute or two. You were-"

Kakashi woke up, laying on the cold cave floor with nothing but the occasional drip of water to break the silence. Sakura and Dai were nowhere to be seen. He sat up, took his head in his hands, and screamed.


End file.
